Another Victim Linked to Serial Killer Ted Bundy 52 Years Later

Another murder committed by American serial killer Ted Bundy has been uncovered 52 years after it took place.

According to CNN and The New York Times, Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson held a press conference on the 27th (local time) and announced that Bundy has been identified as the suspect in the 1974 killing of Melissa Ann Smith.

Bundy was a criminal who murdered at least 30 people across the United States in the 1970s, operating in states such as Florida, Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho.

Additional crimes committed by him continue to be confirmed even after his execution in 1989.

Olson's office explained that DNA testing revealed the DNA found during Smith's autopsy matched the DNA obtained from the body of Laura Ann Aime, another victim killed by Bundy.

In addition, the method and motive of the murder were consistent with Bundy's serial killing patterns.

Both Smith and Aime were 17 years old at the time of their deaths.

"While we cannot prosecute Ted Bundy because he is no longer alive, thanks to advances in forensic science, we were able to find answers to a case that remained unsolved for over 50 years," Olson said.

Bundy was a white man who dropped out of law school and primarily targeted and abducted young women during daytime hours in crowded places such as parks and college campuses.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for kidnapping a 17-year-old woman at a shopping mall in Utah in 1974, but he escaped from a Colorado prison, moved to Florida, and continued his killing spree.

Bundy was arrested following the murders of two women at a Florida State University sorority house in 1978.

During this process, Bundy attempted to delay his execution by giving shifting testimonies, alternately claiming he was framed or confessing to killing around 30 people, but he was ultimately executed in 1989.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.